Constitutional Citizenship Clarification Act of 2025
S. 2274119th Congress

Constitutional Citizenship Clarification Act of 2025

Introduced in the SenateSen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)12 sections · 1 min read
Version: Introduced in Senate · Jul 15, 2025

Section 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Constitutional Citizenship Clarification Act of 2025.

Section 2. Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) the right of birthright citizenship, established by section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, is rooted in the common law doctrine of jus soli and limited by the principle that it is not the soil, but ligeantia and obedientia that make the subject born a citizen;

(2) the Supreme Court of the United States has long recognized that, under the principle of allegiance and obedience, the children of foreign diplomats or enemy troops born on United States soil are not entitled to birthright citizenship; and

(3) under that same principle, the children of foreign spies, saboteurs, terrorists, or other hostile actors, as well as the children of illegal aliens, should not be entitled to birthright citizenship.

Section 3. Purpose

The purposes of this Act are—

(1) to codify the common law exception to birthright citizenship for ambassadors and invaders; and

(2) to clarify that other categories of disloyal or disobedient aliens are also subject to such exception.

Section 4. Citizenship at birth exclusions for certain persons born in the United States

Section 301(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401(a)) is amended by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting the following: “: Provided, That a person born in the United States shall not be considered subject to the jurisdiction of the United States if the person is born of alien parents who are—

(1) unlawfully present in the United States;

(2) present in the United States for diplomatic purposes; or

(3) engaged in a hostile occupation of, or a hostile operation in, the United States;”.

to ask questions about this bill.